For many people, a familiar pastime in the weeks leading up to major winter holidays is gathering with family members and watching holiday movies, be they in a theater or on television. During the month of December, as has become tradition, the Falls Free Press will reprise “The 12 Films of Christmas,” focusing on new holiday movies for the year 2022—a year that can still do with plenty of peace and joy. We will review each film, whether naughty or nice, and let you know where to watch.
Sometimes a film is forever classified as a holiday film, despite having absolutely nothing to do with the holiday it’s associated with. For instance, Addams Family Values is often connected with Thanksgiving due to its summer camp scene involving a play about the the Puritans and Native Americans; Mean Girls is associated with Christmas simply because of the foursome’s dance to “Jingle Bell Rock.” There are some Christmas movies however, whose plot has so little to do with the holiday itself that it’s easily forgotten. A Christmas Mystery is one of those films.
A Christmas Mystery opens by explaining the history of Pleasant Bay, Oregon, stating that in 1922 a drought shut down the lumber mill, putting most of the town out of work. Awoken on Christmas Eve, a young boy was believed to have seen Santa Claus flying over his house after dropping a set of magical jingle bells. After wishing on the bells, he awoke the next morning to find not only a Christmas gift, but learned that the drought was over and the mills were once again working. Since then the bells had become special to the town, cherished as the object which brings hope to all during hardships. The mystery of the story comes when the bells are stolen from the museum 4 days before Christmas, and the museum’s security guard is accused of the act. Not believing the guard culpable, the sheriff’s young daughter Violet (played by Violet McGraw from the film M3gan) does her own investigation to help get her best friend’s father out of jail.
Given the movie’s length, under 90 minutes, less than one-third of the story concerns Christmas, despite it’s prominence in the title and the stolen object. Otherwise, A Christmas Mystery is simply another sleuthing family film more commonly seen as a straight-to-DVD release than coming from a large studio like Warner Bros. While the story and characters may be well-written and perfect for all ages, weaving together their local history into cause and reason for the committed crime, the holiday integration feels unnecessary beyond a holiday release objective.
A Christmas Mystery is available to steam on HBOMax.
